Rare Sisters Day | Fairplay, CO Fundraiser

Dear Fairplay,

There are simply not enough words to thank you for your tremendous generosity, love and support for Rare Sisters Day. You showed us that a tiny mountain town can move mountains. You have been a miracle for us and for Batten kids, including Cecilia and Lilly Fries. Rare Sisters Day was overwhelming for us in so many ways. We have felt your love and prayers tumbling down the mountain to us, but to bottle it up in one place for one night was truly a beautiful sight and awe-inspiring. You generously gave and raised almost $46,000. From this total, $32,626 was raised for the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation, which will go directly to finding a treatment and eventually a cure for Batten Disease. The remainder of the funds were donated to the Fries Supplemental Needs Trust, which will help our family with any needs that arise for the girls including transportation and costs associated with any future clinical trials, therapy, medical equipment and devices, etc.

To those of you who so generously donated one of the 100+ auction items, thank you. The items were amazing, and many of them showcased your talent, or gave from your own livelihood. So many of you gave your time to help plan and execute this day, and gave weekends through the last several month to sell tickets and other items. We want to especially thank Jennifer Witzak for stepping up and initializing this event from the beginning. Also, Bev Bushaw, Carol McDevitt, Lillian Wissell, Linda Tecklenburg, Julie Bullock, Pat Stoinski, Barbara McGraw and Paul Goodro, we are so grateful for your gift of time to us. So many local businesses rallied around us too. They were instrumental in advertising the event, and in donating. A very special thank you to Deepwater Restoration, The Business Connection, Split Window, the Legion Hut, the Alma Foundation (Ed Snell Memorial Race), Chaffee County Waste, Teller County Waste, Shirley Septic, TBK Bank, and Qdoba who all played a vital role in donating directly to the event and providing food, shelter, music, and advertising. Prior to Rare Sisters Day, Prather's Market showed true love and dedication by asking every guest to donate at check out. This raised over $5,000 towards the cause, and we are so grateful.

Fairplay, you are part of the Rare Sisters Village. You are part of our story. You are part of the miracle. We love you, and we thank you.

Sincerely appreciative,

Beth & Jon Fries

Jeanna & Pete Ambrose